MOTU 4pre, User Manual

Page: 13 / 82

A B O U T T H E 4 P R E
13
computer. This gives you maximum flexibility and
compatibility with today’s ever-expanding
universe of Mac and Windows computers.
The 4pre has the ability to power itself from its
FireWire connection to the computer, for
convenient, mobile bus-powered operation.
Power supply
If you do not want the 4pre to draw power from the
computer, and AC power is available, you can
power the 4pre from any standard 9-18V, 5 watt
DC power supply with any polarity (tip positive or
negative).
THE 4PRE FRONT PANEL
Front-panel trim adjustment and mixing
The six digital rotary encoders on the 4pre front
panel provide hands-on trim adjustment and
mixing of all four mic inputs. In fact, these controls
provide control of up to four separate mixes. Use
the volume and trim/mix knobs to control input
volume for each mix; push the MIX knob to cycle
among the four different mixes, plus trim mode,
which lets you adjust input trim for each across all
mixes.
48V phantom power and pad
The four TRIM/MIX knobs let you toggle
independent 48V phantom power and -20 dB pad
settings for the four mic inputs. See “Mic/guitar
inputs with preamps” on page 12.
Main volume control with dedicate headphone
output
The 4pre front panel provides two independent
headphone jacks with independent volume knobs,
one of which also controls the main outs on the
rear panel. Alternately, this MAIN knob can be
programmed to control any combination of
outputs (analog and/or digital).
Status and metering LEDs
The LED section provides visual indication of
audio levels, audio activity status, and the current
settings for all front-panel controls.
16-BIT AND 24-BIT RECORDING
The 4pre system handles all data with a 24-bit
signal path, regardless of the I/O format. You can
record and play back 16-bit or 24-bit audio files at
any supported sample rate via any of the 4pre’s
analog or digital inputs and outputs. 24-bit audio
files can be recorded with any compatible host
application that supports 24-bit recording.
CUEMIX MIXING AND EFFECTS
All 4pre inputs and outputs can be routed to the
on-board CueMix 8-bus (4 stereo) digital mixer
driven by hardware-based DSP. The mixer allows
you to mix all inputs to any output pair directly in
the 4pre hardware, independent of the computer.
The on-board mixer can be used when the 4pre is
operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a
complete portable mixer.
INCLUDED SOFTWARE
The 4pre software installer provides the following
including cross-platform software applications for
Mac and Windows.
MOTU Audio Console
MOTU Audio Console provides access to basic
hardware settings, such as sample rate, headphone
output channel selection, and other settings.
MOTU SMPTE Console
MOTU SMPTE Console provides access to the
4pre system’s SMPTE time code synchronization
features, including locking to time code,
generating time code, displaying a time code read-
out, and so on.